


Sucker Punch

by Redskybluecherry



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, One Shot, Reader-Insert, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 16:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20176966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redskybluecherry/pseuds/Redskybluecherry
Summary: It had never occurred to you that there were different ways of falling in love with someone.





	Sucker Punch

**Author's Note:**

> This is totally cheesy but i was having the worst day and was in need of some fluff.  
Also, i love the song "Sucker Punch" by Sigrid, and it kind of inspired me.

_It hit me like a sucker punch, just one look and now I’m out of touch._  
  
It had never occurred to you that there were different ways of falling in love with someone. You’d always just assumed that it was a standardised procedure with minor deviations due to the individuals involved.  
As it turned out, you had been wrong. Big time.

  
  
You had been best friends with Portgas D. Ace since the second year of University, when you’d woken him up after he had fallen asleep during a test while munching on food.  
  
Everyday, he would pick you up from home. At first, you’d felt bad about it and wanted to offer him some money, but he’d just laughed it off and called you insane. And since he had an actual car of his own while all you could afford was public transport (barely), you had gratefully accepted. You hadn’t ever acknowledged the fact you two had become friends, there was no need to. Other than his narcolepsy and bing-eating tendencies (though he still managed to stay in shape flawlessly, god how you’d kill for that metabolism), Ace was one of, if not the easiest person to be around: He always made you feel comfortable and at ease, made you laugh everyday and cheered you up after the inevitable failures here and there (Hey, nobody said Uni was easy, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t throw yourself a pity-party regardless).  
  
To you, he had always been just a friend. Sure, you saw each other on a daily basis and since your last relationship (fiasco), you hadn’t hung out with anyone else as often as Ace, but somehow, it all seemed natural and perfectly platonic to you. Until you’d met his brothers Thatch and Marco, who had proceeded to try and rile Ace up by calling you his „girlfriend“ and „wifey“ all the time. He’d mostly just laughed and shrugged it off, but you couldn’t help but blush everytime the two <strike>demons</strike> older guys brought it up, resulting in them only teasing you more for it.  
And then, you’d asked yourself: Why were you blushing? Was there something your physiological reactions were aware of that your psychological self wasn’t?  
So, being the budding scientist <strike>and severe case of OCD</strike> you were, you’d done the only thing that seemed plausible to you: You’d set up a theoretical model of possible causes for your going red in the face.  
When did a person normally blush?  
When they were embarrassed or ashamed. But was there a reason for you to be ashamed of the potential situation of Ace being your boyfriend? Certainly not. He was a wonderful person and he was definitely good-looking (in an objective, empirically valid way, of course).  
But if you weren’t ashamed or embarrassed, what was the reason?  
(Of course you knew there was another opportunity. But you were way too deep in denial to even let it come to your mind.)  
You decided you needed to gather more practical evidence to expand your model.  
  
So you started to pay more attention to the way you and Ace interacted with one another. But somehow, you just couldn’t manage to find anything out of the ordinary.

* * *

  
  
But then, today, you had an epiphany. It didn’t come naturally though, but was rather forced on to you. After school, you were waiting at Ace’s car as always. He was usually more late than you, but today, he was _exceptionally_ late. You pulled out your phone and texted him.

(Y/N)_: Hey fireface, you fell asleep in class or what? _

When he didn’t answer for another 5 minutes, you were contemplating to just go back in and search for him (yes, you were a very patient person). Just when you wanted to leave to go find him, you saw him.  
But he was not alone.  
Walking next to him, basically shoving herself against him, was without a doubt the most beautiful girl you had ever seen. Her skin and hair was flawless and her overall appearance made her seem like a freaking supermodel, not a university student. Self-conscious, you took a peek down at your own outfit – plain, normal, boring.  
She was smiling widely at Ace and begrudgingly, you realized, he smiled back. Not only that, but when they said goodbye, they hugged. Ace never hugged anyone but you – not his brothers, not his other friends, just you. And right then, you knew. Because you had felt these emotions before, you knew what jealousy and heartbreak felt like, you just never would’ve thought you’d be experiencing them again because of Ace.  
Completely oblivious of your inner turmoil of emotions, he walked over to you, grinning while holding his hand out for a high five.  
“Guess who’s got a date this weekend?”  
You tried really hard not to show how confused, sad and angry you were – at yourself, mostly, at him, at his gorgeous date-to-be, and at the whole perverse irony that was your life.  
So you just put on a mask and high fived him, wearing your best fake smile.  
During the ride home, it was getting harder and harder for you to keep up your act. After you hadn’t said anything in a while, he said: “Hey (Y/N), are you alright? You seem off today.”  
You wanted to tell him, you really wanted to. But you didn’t want to throw away over 2 years of friendship just because of some stupid, childish feelings that would hopefully be gone soon. So you just lied to him, making you feel horrible because you knew he noticed you weren’t telling him the truth. But right now, all you wanted to do was just crawl under your blanket, put on Gilmore Girls and cry yourself to sleep.  
As you got out of the car, he took your hand, holding you back. His grip was strong, but not the least bit painful. He’d never hurt you, you knew that. “(Y/N)… you sure you don’t wanna tell me what’s going on?” The look on his face made you want to throw yourself into his arms and strangle him at the same time. Where were all these feelings coming from? Where had they been all this time, and why were they suddenly overwhelming you?  
You sighed. “Sorry, Fireface. I’ll tell you when I feel like it, but it’s nothing serious, so don’t worry, ok?” The expression on his face told he’d worry way too much.  
“If you say so.” He muttered, defeated. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” The smile he was offering you didn’t reach his eyes.  
“Yeah”, you answered, walking inside your home with his eyes burning a hole inside your back.

For the next two days, you didn’t go to Uni. You messaged Ace on the same evening, telling him you were coming down with a cold and that he didn’t need to pick you up until you felt better. You didn’t think he bought anything you told him, but he didn’t pry. Maybe, he just wasn’t interested, now that someone way prettier than you was paying attention to him and potentially becoming his girlfriend.

God, you really didn’t like yourself sometimes. Your friendship with Ace had been perfect and pure. And now, all of a sudden, some feelings started to show up like a sucker punch. And now, there was no going back. You had feelings for your best friend and he was going to go on a date with another girl.  
Just when your depressing thoughts threatened to swallow you whole again, something made you think. _Why is this the first date he goes on ever since we’d become friends_?  
Ace wasn’t a player, but he wasn’t asexual either, and he was way too good-looking to stay single longer than he wanted to, so why hadn’t he ever had dates or a girlfriend ever since you’d met? He’d told you about his ex, as you’d told him about yours and you’d both joked about it, but other than that, there was no romance in his life. And you knew he’d tell you if there was, he wasn’t too afraid to do so today, and you saw each other every single day, he wouldn’t be able to keep a secret from you even if he wanted to. Strange.

* * *

It was Friday night. The night of Ace’s date. And yes, you were _definitely_ desperate enough to spend the evening crying and sulking while repeatedly checking your phone for messages and eating your favourite ice cream. Other people had more adaptive strategies of emotional regulation, but so what, this was yours. And most of the time, it worked – kind of.  
It was 8pm and you were just about to open the can of ice cream and watch _Gone with the Wind _(hey, you loved the classics) when you heard someone ringing your doorbell. Strange. Probably a new delivery guy who couldn’t tell apart your apartment from your neighbour’s. You didn’t answer, yet not one minute later, the ringing didn’t stop and someone was additionally knocking at your door. _Ugh_.  
You went over to your front door, quickly making sure there were no stains of ice cream on your sweatpants and shirt when you opened.  
“If you’re looking for Apartment 25, this is 24-“  
“Idiot, as if I didn’t know where you live.”  
It was Ace. As you couldn’t contain your shock, he strolled into your place, setting down some snacks on the couch as he sat down and lazily looked up at you, putting his arms behind his back. “So, what are we watching?” He smiled.  
You sent a silent prayer to heaven (<strike>though what for you didn’t know, you never prayed)</strike> to not let your face turn red as you asked him.  
“Um, what are you doing here Ace? You’ve got a date tonight, remember?”  
“Cancelled it.” Your jaw was basically on the floor as he couldn’t help but laugh at your shocked expression. (You inner demons rejoiced in glee as you realized he had said _cancelled_, not _rescheduled_).  
“Cancelled? But why, why would you-“  
“Because my best friend wasn’t feeling well this week, and she won’t tell me what’s going on. And that’s way more important to me than anything or anyone else.”  
You blushed, not knowing what to say. Slowly, he got up, softly putting his hands on your shoulders, making you shiver. He had touched you almost every single day for the last two years, yet now your body had decided to react this way.  
He took one of his hands to lift your head up, your eyes meeting.  
“(Y/N), do you wanna tell me what’s wrong now?”  
You took a deep breath. Even though you were about to destroy the best friendship you’d ever had, you knew you couldn’t lie to him, and you knew your feelings wouldn’t just vanish into thin air.  
“Ace, I-I think I like you. As in…more than just friends. I know this sounds completely insane considering we-we’ve been friends for so long and I really want you to know that I know you don’t feel the same and you-“  
Before you could continue, you felt his warm, soft lips against yours, making your eyes widen and your cheeks turn an even darker shade of red.  
His right hand started to stroke your hair while his left one wandered down to your neck, holding you in place while simoultanously caressing your skin.  
“Wait” you managed to get out between heavy breaths, slowly pulling away from him.  
“What – Ace what are you _doing_?”  
He looked like the cat that ate the canary. “Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”  
“Wait, _what_?!” you asked, completely confused.  
He chuckled, leaning his forehead against yours. “Sometimes, you’re as oblivious as Luffy, I swear. I’ve been having feelings for your for a while now, but I didn’t think you’d ever like me back. Then Marco and Thatch suggested I should just make you jealous-“  
“They WHAT?!” you shrieked.  
“Hey, without them, we wouldn’t be here, right?” he said, and the look on his face was enough to positively melt your heart. How had you never noticed before how gorgeous this man really was?  
“Well, I guess I’ll make an exception and let them live then. Just this once.” You smiled as he leaned in to kiss you again.  
  
It had never occurred to you that there were different ways of falling in love with someone. But you were glad you’d found out when you did because now, your best friend was also your boyfriend, and you were the happiest girl in the world.

* * *

  
  
-Meanwhile, over at the Newgate mansion-

“HA! Ace just texted me. You owe me 20 bucks man, I told you it would work! Finally!”  
“Who would’ve thought it would actually be so easy, yoi?”


End file.
